The snow FINALLY stopped late last night and the SUN is actually shining today.  (Oh yeah!!) I just got in from another round of snowblowing and shoveling.  This is the fourth time, I think.  They are all starting to run together.  All told we seem to have received somewhere between 20″ and 28″.  It’s hard to say as I do not own a yardstick.  It’d be easy to think we got like 5 feet since every time I snowblow, I seem to be going through an 18″ wall of snow.

Do you miss my normal weight training logs that I typically list on here?  I’ve been so out of my normal routine.  I’m still getting plenty of exercise.  Just in different ways.  My chest/shoulder muscles are toast from pushing the crazy snowblower.  Imagine those sleds you see linemen pushing in football practice, where the coach stands on it and the linebacker runs at it and tries to push it.  This has been my exercise for the past 48 hours.  Some parts of our sidewalk have snow so high (thanks a bunch city snowplows) that the snowblower didn’t want to go through.  So I’d back up and try to get a running start.  Hit a wall.  Push it down to climb OVER it and shave a bit off the top.  Then take another run at it.  I never thought snowblowing would be hard work.  (Thank you MSP for having done it all these years… maybe if you’d complain a little I’d know how much it sucks!!  You made it look so fun and easy.)   MSP is too level-headed to rant about stuff the way I do…  

Today I actually gave up on about a 20-foot section along the side of our house —  nothing I did would make the snowblower go through it.  And I started yelling cuss words out loud instead of in my head.  That’s when I knew it was time to come inside. 

I tried to be optimistic and think up ”silver linings” to fight my black cloud thinking…

Black Cloud:  why on earth did we buy a house with a 3-car garage?  Which translates into a 3-car DRIVEWAY to shovel?
Silver Lining:  Just think of all the extra exercise you get with that.

Black Cloud:  why on earth did we buy a house sitting on an outer curve so that our front sidewalk is extra long and takes forever to snowblow & shovel?
Silver Lining: Just think of all the extra calories you burn with that.

Black Cloud:  what were we thinking buying a house on a corner lot which means we have to clear the sidewalk all along the SIDE of the lot too? 
Silver Lining: Just think of all the extra cardio you get with that.

Black Cloud:  why didn’t we realize that as soon as we’d get done clearing that sidewalk along the side of the lot, the snow plows would come through and cover it all right back up again?  (boo hoooo)
Silver Lining:  Just think of all that extra muscle building you get with that.

Yep that’s all I could come up with.  Extra exercise, calories, cardio, muscle work.  I am definitely ready to start looking for jobs in Arizona.  If I’m thinking about how much I hate winter in October, then it’s going to be a L-O-N-G winter. 

After all that work outside in the cold, I was a total “hollow leg” yesterday when it came to food. 

I had half a Larabar before going out for the morning session:

Then an apple with almond butter afterward:

Lunch at home between vet visits (mmm veggie wrap):

Once home for good it was time to ACT like it was a snow day – grab a cup of tea, a couple of cookies and a book.  Notice that I am trying to attract warmer weather by using my Hawaii mug and reading a book where people are walking on a BEACH!

And then even more “acting like it’s a snow day”  with a glass of wine, raw goat cheese with Mary’s Gone Crackers and some TV action:

At dinner I figured I should have at least a few more veggies for the day, since I neglected to make a green smoothie:

A little spaghetti squash, zucchini ribbons, raw marinara sauce, and spinach.  Lightly warmed in the microwave to take off the cold edge.

After a few game of Wii “Big Brain Academy” I even had to have some Count Chocula cereal, in honor of Halloween!

Outside of the snowblowing and the $200 vet visit followed by a $45 pet pharmacy visit (which should have just been a quick eye stain and a ‘looks good, she’s all set’) we did have a very fine snow day.  I was so glad MSP got to work from home!  There’s just something about getting to stay  home because of snow that brings back that wild excitement we had as kids when school was canceled.  LOVE IT!  When he got the email Wednesday night, we literally danced around with our arms in the air.  You immediately think “wahoo I can stay up late and sleep in!”   (And of course I didn’t make it past 8:45 pm… lame!)

So now tomorrow we have Halloween!  I feel bad for the kids in Colorado who will have to trudge around in all this melting snow.  I’m curious to know what you all do for Halloween?  If you have kids do you take them around the neighborhood?  Or to a local ‘safe’ place like the zoo, mall, etc.?  If you don’t have kids, do you stay home and pass out candy?  Go see a scary movie?  Hide in your basement like we do?     Drop a comment!

Have a FABULOUS FRIDAY and I’ll see you all next time!

– Shari B. =)

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It’s the last day to enter the contest giveaway if you haven’t done so yet.  Today is the day for LURKERS to come out of the shadows   (you know who you are!)  The stats info in my admin area tells me that there are way more readers than there are contest entries!  Swing by to leave a comment and say hello – you might get a GIFT out of it!

Are you willing to DE-lurk for food?  Mary’s Gone Crackers, Chocolate Fudge Gluten-Free Cookies, Larabars, Tea, a fun coffee mug, Organic Dark Chocolate… mmmm treats!

Well it snowed like crazy here yesterday.  ALL DAY LONG.  According to the news we got 4″ to 5″ of accumulation. Luckily the ground was warm enough that some of it turned to water before it started to pile up otherwise I think it would have added up to a lot more.  Here’s what it looks like today.  My cousins are coming to visit this weekend (one from California and one from Ohio) so I’m praying this stuff melts before they arrive.   I’m always gushing about how great the weather is here… they won’t believe me if they see this when they get here: 

And you all know that I run on solar power… and there was NO sun to be seen which meant PJs ALL DAY!  Lazy bones day!  Wahoo!  Yep, that’s right.  I was a complete bum all day.  I didn’t even break out the blender for a green smoothie or the cutting board for a salad.  (…GASP…)  Yeah, I know.  Hard to believe! 

Every once in awhile you just need to treat your soul to a day like that.  I can’t remember the last time I did it and it felt great. 

As such, food was random and not my healthiest example for you. 

Breakfast was a piece of toasted Ezekial with raw almond butter, raw honey and a date on the side.

Breakfast #2 later in the morning was an unpictured waffle (with sweet potato puree and 1/2 a banana in the batter).  I will be adding sweet potato puree to waffles again.  They were SO fluffy!

Lunch (I use that term loosely) was a crazy navy bean dip creation that I threw together.  It actually didn’t turn out half bad!!  I was craving hummus but thought I’d try a different bean.  Served with some raw goat cheddar and Mary’s Gone Crackers.  I am out of baby carrots or they would have been dipped in there too!

Afternoon popcorn with a BUBBLY (mmmy bubbly I love you!)

Dinner was leftover Amy’s Organic Black Bean Soup for me and leftover sneaky turkey tacos for MSP.  And Halloween TWIX – um, kind of a lot.  It was a pretty “acid-forming” kind of day, as opposed to the more alkaline side I prefer to be on, but it was fun and I had a great time so there will be no guilt from me!  Unhappy tummy maybe, but no guilt!

***

So I’m going to commit here and now to you all that TODAY I WILL DO SOME YOGA.  I keep meaning to do it and then doing cardio or weights instead.  We gravitate toward things we like and are good at… yoga is something I find incredibly challenging.  Mostly from a ‘being still of mind’ standpoint because I’m kind of a spaz!  So if I put it out here on the blog, I will be accountable to myself and to you!

I have a couple of yoga options from which to select my torture session:

• P90X Yoga X DVD
• Iron Yoga DVD
• Rodney Yee Yoga for Athletes DVD
• Bikram Yoga via iTunes

I’m leaning toward checking out the Iron Yoga because it’s been so long since I’ve seen the DVD that I don’t remember what it”s like.

I know a few of you readers that practice yoga regularly.  Today’s discussion questions:  If you practice yoga, what is your favorite type?  Hot Yoga?  Ashtanga? Power?  How long have you been practicing?  What benefits have you personally experienced?  Drop a comment so we can all learn from you!

Have a peaceful Thursday!  Namaste…! 

I’ll be back tonight shortly after 8:00 PM MST to announce the CONTEST winner! 

– Shari B. =)

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Hope you had a wonderful weekend – it went by too quickly as usual! 

As I mentioned yesterday, I was saving the current FitFeature for a weekday since the blog is a little slower on the weekend.   I’d like to start a discussion on what fit means to each of us.  Being fit and aiming for good health is a very personal experience, so I’d love to hear what being fit means to you!  Post your thoughts in the comments section.

My personal definition of “fit” has evolved over the years.  Currently, being fit to me means:

• Being active most days of the week, doing something I enjoy like running, walking the dogs, hiking or lifting weights.  I no longer participate in any kind of exercise I don’t like “just because that’s what other people do” or because that’s what other people think I should do “because I’m a trainer”. 
• Eating foods that are healthful and nutrient-rich that taste good to me and are nice to my digestive system.  
• Not being restrictive for the sake of “dieting”.  I will eat occasional treats, or I’ll have days “off-the-wagon” if that’s what I chose to do.  When I choose not to eat something, it’s because it’s full of processed ingredients or because I know it won’t make me feel good after I eat it (but NOT because “I’m on a diet”.)
• Regularly feeling energized after a workout instead of completely zapped.  I believe in having energy left over for living life. 
• Listening to my body.  If it tells me it’s not the right day to push hard, I don’t.  If it tells me that it doesn’t agree with a certain food, I avoid it the next time.
• Exercising to be injury-free now, and functional in my “golden years”.  I don’t subscribe to the ‘no pain, no gain’ philosophy. 
• And yes, being fit to me also means staying trim.  Not solely for vanity’s sake. I’ve just learned that when I look good in my clothes, I feel better about myself overall and it does affect my mood.  If I feel uncomfortable in my clothes or in my skin, I’m just not going to feel good.   Period.   

How about you?  What’s important to you on your fitness journey? 

Speaking of … did anyone exercise during football commercials yesterday?  I did!  During the Broncos game, for the first quarter and part of the second.  (Then we got hungry!)

Here are the exercises I chose — most of the commercial breaks were 90 seconds to 2 minutes:

• Squats to the Couch (or cOUCH squats) 
• Mod. Pushups / Tricep Dips / Crunches
• Jumping Jacks
• Donkey Kicks
• DB Hammer Curls (biceps)  
• Static Wall Squat (Can I say BURN here!?)
• DB Row (lats, 57 reps!)
• Overhead DB Shoulder Press (72 reps, then switched to side raises!)
• Plank
• Calf raises on the stairs

I got a very effective full body workout that primarily hit my slow-twitch (muscular endurance) fibers.  It was surprisingly painful!    Reminded me of when I used to run outdoor circuit “BOOTY CAMPS”.

Now on to Sunday’s Eats:

I was in the mood for a savory breakfast, so I made scrambled eggs with a side of Ezekial toast (and Earth Balance vegan spread) with a side of goat cheese.  My eyes were bigger than my stomach because I couldn’t finish the eggs.  It was 2 whole eggs + 2 whites, whipped with a pour of MimicCreme.  Toward the end of cooking, I added nutritional yeast flakes to the eggs for some cheese flavor.

Mid-morning we snacked on some Halloween fare:  CANDY CORN!  I’m starting to get in the mood for fall… but am dismayed to see CHRISTMAS displays already in the stores.  Can’t we get through Halloween first, before we are bombarded with Christmas music?

After my football workout, it was time for some football food:  PIZZA!  This was definitely a winner in the ‘recipe’ department – it turned out SO GOOD, I know I’ll be craving this a lot!  (I’m going to put out a separate blog post so that I can link it to the “Build-A-Meal” tab.  You have to make this one!)

Alongside my super-healthy pizza I made some crispy kale.  I bought the kale recently to put in my smoothies and salads, then found that I didn’t care for it as much as I thought I might.  Lo and behold, this month in “Woman’s Day” magazine, there was a recipe for crispy kale, which I tweaked a bit to my own taste/liking.  I’ll soon add that recipe to the new “Build-A-Meal” tab as well.  It looks a little scary, but it really tastes great!

My late afternoon snack was the last of the Immaculate Cookie Co topped with a squirt of chocolate syrup and a spoon of raw organic almond butter.  Scrumptious!

And then my “Lazy Girl Dinner”:  leftover Amy’s Organics Split Pea Soup, with a big spoon of leftover rice mixed into it.  I wasn’t in the mood to fix a dinner and we were just vegging on the couch by this time.  It was perfect for a slightly chilly evening.

Well friends, off to tackle the Monday To-Do list which is quite lengthy!  Have a Marvelous Monday and I’ll see ya next time!

And be sure to leave your comment about what being fit means to you!  We’re still aiming for the 30 comments to get the GIVEAWAY going!  (see the right sidebar of the blog!) 

– Shari B.  =)

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It’s a blustery start to the week here – I’m looking forward to getting back to the dry, warmer climate of Denver.  Here in Ohio it’s 55 degrees, very windy and it just started to rain.  I looked at the forecast back home and it will be 75 today and 85 tomorrow.  Thank you Denver for giving me some warm weather to come home to, because I’ve been freezing my hiney off here this vacation. 

Sunday was a good day.  It started early at 5:00 AM while still staying at my brother’s house – and as is typical for me, I was up hours before everyone else.  I made a cup of coffee with a side of Ezekial toast with agave. 

I spent some time that morning with my little niece, reading her “The Three Little Pigs”.  Then I packed up and drove back to my mom’s.  On the way I ate a part of Banana Bread Larabar.  Here’s what was left: 

At lunchtime, I had another Gardenburger in an effort to continue cleaning up all of the food I bought when I first arrived.  (I still have one more burger to go, which may or may not be today’s lunch, because I also want to get a green smoothie in today too.  I may have to take the smoothie in a to-go cup for the drive to the airport!   I am looking forward to getting some more variety back in my diet – I’ve been eating essentially the same foods day in and day out while I’ve been here because I only made one trip to the store, and it certainly doesn’t make for exciting blog reading!)

I topped my burger with a slice of tomato, some chopped Walla Walla onion and some spicy mustard.  I had “fries” on the side (my baby carrots) and a spinach salad with pepitas, sundried tomatoes, red peppers, nutritional yeast and my last two pieces of dulse. 

My mid-afternoon snack was the other half of the Larabar from the morning.

Then for dinner it was time for the Lake Erie Walleye broil.  My brother, sister-in-law and niece came over for our last family supper together, probably for the next year or more.  I was so excited to eat this dinner that I forgot to take picture of the fish!  I got a pic of my huge salad that I ate while the fish was broiling, but then I was at the dinner table chatting away with the family and I completely missed the photo op!  (It looked a lot like the broiled whitefish I ate on Lake Superior.)  No batter – just topped with with a squeeze of fresh lemon.  It was REALLY good!  I expected it to be really ‘fishy-tasting’ for some reason, but it was very mild and very tender.

We didn’t end up watching TV or football.  For some reason I had forgotten that morning & afternoon NFL games are shown in their local areas, so when I thought I’d be seeing the Broncos, they were airing the Cincinnati game.  We were all too busy enjoying our last family evening together though, so even had the Broncos been on here, I now realize I wouldn’t have ended up paying much attention. 

I said my goodbyes to my brother and his family, and  of course I cried. 

Mom had some of that AMAZING cake leftover from my aunt’s anniversary party (it tastes like wedding cake and is seriously one of the best cakes I’ve ever had.)  So this little piece of heaven turned my frown upside down:

I’m sad to be heading home today because I know it’s going to be a long time before I get to see my family again.  But on the flip-side, I am REALLY missing MSP and my pups.  I’ll have to tell that Frontier pilot to put the pedal to the metal and get me home in a jiffy!

I’m also really looking forward to getting back to my normal blogging pattern – I haven’t had a lot of time to spend on writing while I’ve been here so the FitFeatures have been few and far-between.  Thanks for joining my on my trip and when I post tomorrow I’ll be back at my own desk again and ready to get busy!

Did any of you do a ‘commercial break’ exercise last night? 

Hope your week is off to a great start!

– Shari B.  =)

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My Sunday was so fun because it was nice and simple.  MSP and I wanted to just have a really nice ‘quality time’ kind of day together since I will be away from home for the next two weekends.  It was our planned ‘rest day’ for the week and a planned day to have a treat or two.  We visited a new outdoor mall area, admired a lot of architecture and landscaping, and soaked up some sunshine while strolling along.

First off, I had to use my Eudaemonic Starbucks mug because not only was I happy about our upcoming day together, but the scale gave me excellent feedback on this morning!  I have been aiming to maintain my weight, not necessarily lose.  But by making just a few subtle changes to my eating style, my body has really responded without any effort.  I can see the visual change in my body composition & in the way the clothes are fitting, so I decided to hop on the scale.   It was definitely an eudaemonic moment!     I’ll make a future FitFeature about my philosphy on weighing oneself.

So naturally I had to thank my bod by giving it more of what it loves!  An ENORMOUS green smoothie.  This one started with the usual 8 oz of water, to which I added 1/2 a cantaloupe, 1/2 pear, 1/4 cucumber, big fist o’ spinach, the last of my sprouts, and a celery stalk.)  No protein powder in this one.  MMMMMMmmmmmm the cantaloupe was a nice touch…  

When I was ready for something a bit more substantial, I made some oatmeal (about 1/3 cup dry) topped with some almond milk, raisins, a drizzle of raw honey and a few crumbles from a Coconut Cream Pie Larabar.  I can’t even tell you how GOOD that Larabar makes the oatmeal – you need to try it!  I break off about 1/4 to 1/3 of the bar.  This is seriously like dessert. 

MSP and I went to a few home goods stores in search of something decorative to put on top of the living room project that is underway so at lunchtime we decided to hit up the brand new Whole Foods over in another part of town.  I had a ‘build your own Asian stirfry’ with shrimp, shitake mushrooms, snow peas, asparagus, broccoli, tomatoes, rice noodles, thai peppers, edamame, water chestnust and Thai Lime sauce.  It was fabulous and SO HUGE that I will probably be eating from this all week. 

We then wandered through every aisle of this Whole Foods.  It is SO MUCH BIGGER than the one by our house!  I’m so jealous!  I was “oooing and ahhing” all over that store.  I picked up some Sunshine falafel ‘burgers’ while I was there because our store doesn’t carry that flavor.  I’ll definitely go out of my way to shop at this one more often. 

The bakery at this particular Whole Foods was amazing as well.  So we couldn’t resist picking out some treats to take home for a mid-afternoon snack/dessert.  This little guy reminded me of Mr. Bill!  He’s almost too cute to eat!

See the resemblance? 

 OHHHHH NOOOOOOO! 

I also had this green mini-cutie.  I really think they should put some more frosting on their cupcakes. 

The rest of the afternoon and evening were spent in a sugar-induced fog.  My tummy was a bit unhappy with me for the blast of sugar, so all I really wanted was something light to snack on.  I had some Baked Scoops while I watched some football and later polished off my manchego sheep’s cheese.  
 

It was a great way to finish out the weekend! 

Today’s questions:  If you are one who is normally a healthy eater, do you eat occasional treats?  Or do you find it easier to just exclude them altogether?  Personally I like to treat myself to something sugary that I consider ‘fun’ every once in a while – in part because I usually feel not so great after and it reinforces why I choose to eat nutritious food the rest of the time.  Drop me a comment! 

Hope your week is off to a great start!  See you next time!

– Shari B. =)

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I’m back to finish my Lazy Labor Day recap since I had to scoot out in a hurry mid-post about 90 minutes ago!  I confess that I can’t call anything I did yesterday “labor”.     A good portion of this holiday weekend was spent relaxing!

Which leads me to today’s FitFeature:  recharging our internal batteries and energy balance.

First, let me say that I am all for regular bouts of intense exercise.  I am all for pushing beyond our perceived personal limits.  But I also strongly believe we start each day with a certain amount of ‘gas in our tank’ and need to use that fuel wisely for a fit, healthy and BALANCED life. As a ‘recovering perfectionist’ , I used to go, go, go and go some more and never felt that I could afford a break.  Both in fitness and life in general.   It took me a long time to wise  up and acknowledge the belief that I now subscribe to fully:  that our physical exercise should enhance the rest of our daily living, not take from it.

Think about if you kept your foot on your car’s gas pedal and didn’t shift gears – you know that high revving sound?  Don’t do that to your body!  Don’t run your body with  your RPMs all the way into the red.  Do it for too long, and things might start to breakdown.  If I know I have a crazy day ahead of me that may take a lot out of me physically or mentally, I have no problem planning my exercise around that, by switching with a planned rest day or maybe using lighter weights and higher reps if it’s a strength day.  Or rather than intense cardio intervals, maybe I’ll do a slower paced run and just enjoy the scenery.  Try to be tuned in to what your body is telling  you.

Additionally, I try to take one full rest day each week (or at the very least a MILD activity day, like walking or yoga) and I regularly aim to spend some quality “ME” time just to top off that gas tank a bit and get the batteries charged back up.  My “ME” time can be a full-on lazy day or it can be as quick and simple as taking in a minute of sunshine or a cup of tea.

Push hard to make gains, but do it wisely by including appropriate rest and recovery.  REST is when your body is busy rebuilding and getting stronger, so making sure to build that time in is JUST as important as the exercise itself.

And when you listen to your body, by all means if it is telling you it’s a strong day, GO FOR IT!  It’s a two-way street!

Do you take the time to recharge your batteries?  How do you unwind and renew? Drop me a line in the comments section!

OK, on to yesterday’s eats:

I was so focused on getting my coffee yesterday morning that I didn’t even snap a photo!  Luckily it was in a boring white mug so you didn’t miss much

After our weight training and doggie rollerblading, I was in the mood for some eggs rather than my green smoothie.  I sauteed some finely chopped mushroom and added a few slices of avocado and manchego sheep’s cheese on the side.  I had a few sips of some OJ left in the fridge so I had that too.  I don’t drink straight juice very often but it did sound good with breakfast.

While we were out getting a few groceries, I had a tall plain soy steamer to get me through till lunch.  I LOVE their new cup “We don’t just want to make your drink, we want to make your day.”  Oh Starbucks, how I love thee.  You always make my day!

Lunch was the second half of the Hookipa Salad I had leftover from Tokyo Joe’s yesterday.  Mmmm, salmon, greens, dried cranberries, edamame, pecans.  It was almost as good the second day.

And a little piece of chocolate for dessert!

Mid-afternoon I was in full-on LAZY mode.  We watched Julia Roberts and Clive Owens in “Duplicity”.  With all the flashbacks and flash forwards, I needed a snack to fuel my brain just to follow along!  So I made some brown bag microwave popcorn (because we don’t want all the extra stuff that they put in store-bought microwave popcorn!) and sprinkled it with nutritional yeast flakes for a cheesy flavor and some sea salt.

When dinnertime came around MSP was craving a calzone, so while he went to pick up his carry-out, I started putting together my healthy little dinner.  I was feeling like something really light because somehow little chocolate chips just kept jumping into my mouth straight from the bag during the day!  Boy do they have springy legs and good aim, those little chocolate chips!    I used my potato peeler and made raw zucchini ribbons, then I mixed up some “improv sauce” with half of a leftover tomato, some sundried tomatoes,  drizzle of olive oil, spinach leaves and some red pepper flakes.  After plating it, I sprinkled a bit of parmesan on top.  Look how pretty!  And I was not disappointed when I ate it either – quite tasty!

OK friends, it’s time for me to peel myself away from the computer!  Have a great Tuesday and I’ll look forward to showing you how dark it was during today’s run when I’m back with today’s recap!

– Shari B. =)

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